SHOPPERS have been left fuming after being unable to make purchases as card payments go down across the UK.
Major retailers including Asda, McDonald’s and Sainsbury’s have all been affected by the outage.
According to DownDetector, more than 600 people are reporting problems with the card provider Visa this morning.
It looks like the issues began at around 8am this morning.
Visa told The Sun its operations are working normally but that its aware that cardholders are experiencing issues.
Reports of problems with Mastercard are also climbing on Downdetector, with around 130 reports so far.
Shoppers have taken to social media to highlight the service issues at their local shops and supermarkets.
One X user said: “Card machines in stores seem to be down across the United Kingdom I’m hearing reports of similar in France too.”
Another added: “Huge issues with card payments in Asda and ATMs in my area seems to be countrywide, with long queues, machines not working, card declined.”
A third wrote: “Just did a whole shop in Asda and got to the till and told card payments aren’t working across supermarkets/shops in the UK.”
A Sainsbury’s shopper added: “Good thing I had cash on me this morning, Sainsbury’s card machines are down, again.”
One customer shared a photograph of a sign in their local Sainsbury’s supermarket, which read: “Cash only. We apologise, we’re currently unable to take payments on Argos cards, contactless and mobile devices.
“We’re working to resolve this issue. Please pay using cash or SmartShop app.”
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson confirmed to The Sun that the issue in its supermarkets has been resolved and card payment is back up and running.
McDonald’s has also been affected by the outage, with one customer complaining that their local drive-thru was cash only.
A Visa spokesperson said: “While Visa’s systems are operating normally, we are working with our partners to investigate.”
Link, which runs the UK’s cash machines, said it was not aware of people having issues withdrawing cash.
How to check if your bank is down
THERE are a few different ways to find out if your bank is experiencing an outage.
Senior consumer reporter Olivia Marshall explains how you can check.
If you’re trying to send money to someone, or you just want to check if you have enough cash for a coffee, finding your online banking is down can be a real pain.
Most banks have a dedicated news page on their website to show service problems, including internet banking, mobile apps, ATMs, debit cards and credit cards.
You can also check on any future work they have planned and what it might mean for you.
Plus, you can check websites such as Down Detector, which will tell you whether other people are experiencing problems with a particular company online.
What to do if you can’t use your card
Don’t get caught out without access to your money.
If you are heading out today, make sure you aren’t relying on your Visa card alone
We don’t yet know how long the payment problems will last so it’s vital to make sure that you aren’t caught short.
Take cash with you if you can and if you have other credit or debit cards make sure that you bring these along
Keep receipts and a record or any extra costs you incur should you need to claim it back.
It comes after Tesco customers were left fuming when contactless payments went down at all UK supermarkets earlier this week.
Reports suggested that other supermarket giants, such as Sainsbury’s, were also experiencing the same outage.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories